Aaduki Newsletter, 1st December 2017

Welcome! We are happy to present you with this months Aaduki Newsletter. We hope you enjoy it and if you have any content you would like us to feature in next months issue, please contact us! Happy reading from all the team here at Aaduki. Please find our contact details and links to our Social Media platforms at the bottom of this email.

7 Essential Things to do at The Societies’ 2018 Convention

1. Get hands on with the latest kit

Don’t miss the chance to get hands-on with the latest photographic gear. Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Olympus and Fujifilm are all confirmed to exhibit, there will be no shortage of choice and experts will be there to answer your questions and help you make all-important purchasing decisions.

2. Learn from some of the world’s best photographers

Over 200 hours of Masterclasses have been confirmed for the 2018 Convention. Don’t miss out on the chance to start off the year with inspiration from your peers.

3. See the winners of 20×16” Print Competition

The Societies’ 20×16” Print Competition winners will be showcased during the Trade Show. You’ll be able to see the images up close and if you make it for the judging (Wednesday 10-Thursday 11 Jan) you can see the judges critiquing and scoring the entries – entry to the judging sessions is free of charge.

4. Living Light with Elinchrom and The Flash Centre

The Flash Centre will be back again in January with another great lineup of speakers giving everyone who attends The Societies’ 2018 Convention Trade Show the opportunity to listen and learn from some of the best in the industry.

5. Join a Fujifilm Photo Walk

Nathan Wake from Fujifilm will be once again taking small groups of photographers out and about with the latest cameras and lenses. If you are thinking of purchasing a Fujifilm X Series camera or accessory then there is no better place to ‘try before you buy’, with expert advice on hand.

6. Take your business to the next level

The Societies’ Business School has created an amazing reputation in a few short years, it is now an intrinsic part of the annual Convention and all those delegates who attend leave with a wealth of information to plough straight back into their businesses.

7. Take advantage of the exclusive 2018 Convention deals?

The 2018 exhibitors have gone all out this year and have come up with some fantastic offers. Make sure you check out The Societies’ vouchers page to find all the latest deals, free gifts and prize draws.

*Pre-register before 5 January 2018 for FREE and avoid £10 entry fee to Trade Show.

Full Convention: 10-14 January 2018 | FREE* Trade Show Dates: 12-14 January 2018

The Manfrotto Bumblebee-130 PL camera backpack is designed for the professional outdoor worker but that’s no reason why the enthusiast or semi pro shouldn’t look at it. At around a £180 if offers great value for money.

There’s a lot of thought gone into this bag besides the usual excellent features for example the silver side of the included fold out rain protector will deflect direct sunshine in hot climates and prevent your digital gear from overheating.

You also have custom designed dividers giving the choice to fold them out of the way or to be pulled out to protect your gear in special situations and there’s also a designated laptop compartment and tripod attachment option.

You can quickly get your gear out from a top compartment by dividing the interior into two sections plus this top section can be reversed should you so wish. The main area will take a pro DSLR with a lens and up to four additional lenses.

The bag is very light and all the straps are fully adjustable and offer maximum comfort. If you have lot of equipment and are an outdoor worker this bag really does deserve inspection.

If you can’t afford the specialist long lenses then have a look at Tamron’s new megazoom. This 18-400mm (equivalent to a 22.2x zoom) lens lets you take wildlife, portraits, sports and landscapes without having to change the lens every time you see something and provides just about unlimited possibilities for most situations including a reasonable macro distance where you can focus down 45cm.

The is designed for DLSRs with an APS-C sensor and has Canon and Nikon mounts. However, do check and ask if it will work with your own camera before you buy. For the Nikon fit it is 121.4mm long when fully extended and weighing a light 705g. The Canon fit is slightly longer and heavier – 710g in weight and 123.9mm long.

It’ also has moisture proof construction so if you’re caught in out in wet and raining conditions it’s still going to perform well and you get built in VC image stabilisation. You also get an AF/MF switch and a Lock switch for the 18mm setting.

This a superb lens for the amateur/enthusiast when you’re on holiday but shouldn’t be sniffed at by others. I can see freelance travel writers for example using it all the time.

There is no doubt that many of us consider Gitzo to be a leader when it comes to tripods.

Their Series 1 Traveler carbon Exact is as the name suggests a solid carbon fibre tripod which comes in with a light weight of only Ikg.

It also comes with that amazing built in 180° leg folding system that lets the five section legs reverse-fold around the centre column (36cm length) and optional ball head making it so much easier to carry on long treks to location and to store.

The legs can be quickly and easily lowered by the twist-and-go G lock system and the rubber grips are great too for wet and or cold conditions. Te nternal O ring stops dust and grit getting in too. It will take a load of up to 10Kg and has maximum height of 138cm and minimum 20cm for low angle or macro shots.

It’s expensive (£600+) and you don’t get a head or monopod included included but this is a serious piece of kit offering excellent stability. You can buy a kit with a head included and if you’re looking for a lightweight tripod to use with a DSLR and a large telephoto lens this could be the one for you.

The Gossen Sixtomat F2 lightmetre is a neat piece of kit. It comes in a compact meter housing with a sliding indident/reflected measurement dome with a large LCD display and soft touch buttons.

Ths light meter can pre select the aperture you need to create the desired depth of field, then take a meter reading from there to determine the shutter speed for first time exposure accuracy.

If you’re creating starscape images, panoramas and night scenes it can be used to determine exposure levels up to 60 minutes.

When you’re working in the studio the Sixtomat F2 can be operated in either corded or uncoded flash mode, dependant on your requirements and to create greater depth of field in your subject, multiple exposure calculations can be achieved in the meter.

Plus if you‘re shooting with fill in flash for creative effect the Sixtomat F2 can display the ratio between flash and ambient light, ensuring that your flash equipment is set up to produce exactly the result you imagined.

The calculated exposure values can be displayed either in full, 1/2 or 1/3 stop increments and it even covers the entire CINE scale (frames per second), including TV standard 25 and 30 f.p.s.

The Canon EFS – 55-250mm IS II is one of Canon’s most popular lenses and it’s no wonder because it’s very sharp, focuses very close, has a perfect telephoto zoom range, and has Image Stabilization for sharp hand-held photos in dim light. We used it on an overcast day on a boat in Northumberland photographing seals and got great results.

With a minimum close-focus range of 85cm (2′ 8″) and a magnification ratio of 0.29x, we found the lens provided good performance in the macro area too.

The lens is small, light and inexpensive and matches up very well to many general purpose zoom lenses. It does require you to move a switch on the body to get from auto to manual focusing however but this is no great hardship.

There is no flexing or rattling when using this lens just gentle hum when focusing while the lens barrel, visible when the lens extends towards 250mm, is smooth.

You can pay more for lenses that will give you the same results and are more solidly built but this is a lovely little lens. It’s a versatile 2nd lens to complement the standard 18-55mm kit lens but check before you buy that you can use it on your camera.

Thank you for reading our newsletter and we hope to see you back again on the 1st of every month!